Kinkaku-ji
In addition to visiting Ryoan-ji, Aaron’s supervisor also had a few other stops on our itinerary. The next was Kinkaku-ji, known as the “Golden Temple,” for obvious reasons.
The temple was originally built in 1397 and stood until 1950 when a young monk burned it to the ground. Shortly thereafter it was rebuilt to resemble the original exactly, except that the gold covering was added to the second floor in addition to the third.
The reconstructed temple was not my favorite site at Kinkaku-ji. Sure, it is impressive and beautiful. But it was also a little, I don’t know, gaudy for my tastes. That being said, I am really glad we went to Kinkaku-ji because the grounds surrounding the temple were stunning.
Spring is in the air in Japan and it was a perfect day to spend some time exploring the area surrounding the temple. The pond, and small floating islands in the pond were home to many ducks and other wildlife. All seeming especially active now that winter seems to be losing its’ grip.
Even the moss seems to realize that spring is on the way. In some places it was starting to turn a nice, bright green color.
We saw this little wishing station as well. The goal is to throw a coin so that it lands into one of the two bowls. If it makes it in, you get your wish. I am sorry to say that my coin was far, far from either of the bowls.
Then, after we were all finished walking around we stopped at the little tea house. We sat outside on our little red platform and enjoyed a steaming hot cup of Japanese tea and a small sweet.